Haunted House
by Mondlerfan101
Summary: Cousins


**Ben 19 Triplets 15 Emma 12 Twins 10 Sophie 8**

It wasn't Halloween, nor was it the day before. But it was the month of the magnificent holiday and that would make any kid excited to get into the mood of a haunted house that hands out free candy to anyone brave enough to go inside. At least, it got me excited.

Being 19 and starting off as a college student I would much rather spend the weekend with my old high school friends and possibly have an innocent drink afterwards. But that was far from what I did on my one fall break home.

After not seeing my baby sister for about 3 months, I took the liberty to spend my free Saturday with Emma at the town's annual Halloween Festival. Of course it couldn't be just the two us, we had 6 cousins that ended up tagging along thanks to my parents. Now I was stuck with 7 kids all under the age of 16.

"We shouldn't be too long, Uncle Chandler." I made the comment as we waited on Jack to find his shoes before leaving. "My dad said that they start to close the haunted houses around 1 but I doubt we will be hanging out for that long, especially with Sophie on our hands."

I watch as my Uncle shakes his head "It's fine. I'm sure they would much rather be hanging with you older kids than sitting at home bored with me and Mon."

"No, really." I stopped his train of thought "We _shouldn't_ be too long." I was sure I made myself more clear the second time.

I'm pretty sure he caught on.

Soon enough I spot Erica coming down the stairs with her jacket in hand. "I'm ready!" Now, I spent a good 10 years with my cousin and I've grown to know that Erica is a kid with many hidden emotions. She will act brave up until the last minute. You never know if she is really excited or shaking in her boots. Erica does wear ugg boots a lot, that's not a metaphor.

"Where's Jack?" I ask starting to look at the time worried as I think about the wait in that mega line once we get there.

"He didn't finish his chores, Mom made it pretty clear that if he didn't finish them he couldn't go with." She informed me. I could have sworn just a few moments ago I saw him running passed us to find his shoes so he _could_ go.

"What kind of chores?" I ask next

Erica shrugs like it's nothing "Just the dishes."

In the next second I find myself heading towards the kitchen. "Hey Aunt Mon." I give a greeting to my Aunt as she puts the last of the leftovers in the fridge.

"Hey Ben." She smiles broadly at me "How is college treating you?"

"Oh, just the usual. 10 page revision papers, pop quizzes, 50 page chapters all due the same day..." I trail off

She nods and moves on "Is everyone waiting on Jack?" She asks in a way I can tell she is concerned with him holding everyone else up.

"No, you were our first stop. We still need to pick up Sophie, Leslie, Chandler and Jr." I tell her "They are all at Aunt Pheebs and Uncle Mike's. I guess Frank and Alice have a wedding to go to in New Jersey so they are watching the triplets for the weekend."

She nods "Are you sure you can handle everyone by yourself?" She asks "I'm sure Chandler wouldn't mind-" She points in his direction but I cut her off before she can continue.

"It's going to be fun. This gives us a chance to hang out as cousins like when we were kids. Besides, we are all teenagers..." I look over at Jack standing on a footstool "Or close enough to one that it should be fine to look after them by myself." I assure her as I walk over to give Jack a hand with drying so we aren't waiting on him all night. "As long as Sophie doesn't throw a tantrum because she wants to play games or go on the hayride, I think it'll be good."

My Aunt smiles at me and I know that she is thankful with me getting all the kids off her hands for a change. With them having the biggest house most slumber parties and play dates are held at her place. This gives my Aunt and Uncle some time to 'rekindle the romance'. But I don't want to think about that right now.

Ghost, Goblins, Werewolf's and Vampires. Ghost, Goblins, Ware Wolfs and Vampires.

I'm ready to go!

"Can I _please_ go now Mom?" I hear Jack's voice carry away any other thoughts I might have.

She sighs "Fine, but no exceptions next week." She warned "You've been getting out of your chores too often."

"Thank you!" He jumps down from the stool he'd been occupying and I look down to find his shoes on his feet.

Thank God. Now we are getting somewhere.

I contemplate my decisions as whether slamming on the breaks to stop the commotion in the back seat is a good idea? With Frank Jr. Jr. up front with me and Jack squished between us playing his video game on high followed by all the girls in the back screeching; it doesn't sound like the worst idea I've had. I come to a slow stop as a light up ahead turns yellow. The radio is on the only station I pick up, which just so happens to be Gospel, Mexican, or Country. It's a pretty old car. My mom's-dead-grandmothers.

My attention switches over to the loud banging music that comes up beside us. All heads turn and we are greeted by some drunks that look just a few years older than me. They got drinks in their hands and like an idiot, I grab the Capri Sun set in the cup holder and take a big gulp as I eye them. Thanks to Phoebe we all look cool now drinking our juice boxes as they got Monsters and Beer.

"Hey, did your Mommy get you that car?" One of them sticks his head out the window and I just wanna yell back, _"Yeah, both of them!"_ But I manage to hold my dignity back. "Did you get stuck babysitting as your Mommy and Daddy make love?" I try to hold back my anger but it can only go so far as I smell the liquor and hear his slurred words next to me.

"Ben?" Emma's small voice behind me tells me everything I need to know. Just ignore them, the light is about to turn green, just a few more seconds.

I press down on the gas as my other foot holds the break steady and all you hear is the shitty engine roar.

"Ben." It was Chandler this time and I knew she was trying to back me down from any idiotic thing I had planned.

I'm studying Engineering in College and I know a lot about motors and cars growing up. It was something I always had a passion for. Trust me, I know what I'm doing. My mom is a nurse, and I also know that the amount of heat coming out of his exhaust mixing with the cool air, he is bound to end up with one hell of a sore throat tomorrow. I think I'm obligated to have a little fun and enjoy this last October day that he might feel just a smidge healthier than the rest.

Once he presses the gas with his break I hear his motor and I laugh. Now, my motor doesn't sound any better, but I know that his won't survive this blow out. He is holding down the gas to long.

Press and release. Press and release...

"Race, Race, Race, Race!" Jack starts to chant in the back as he kicks his feet against the dash.

Looking in the rear view mirror I find Emma and Erica buckling up tight and Leslie and Chandler gripping each other's knuckles.

"Ben, I don't like the noise." I find Sophie plugging her ears as she looks out the window with wide eyes.

If she doesn't like the sound of a roaring engine she is definitely not going to like the sound of a chainsaw chasing her.

The light turns green in a second and I find myself take my foot off the gas then the break and switch over to the gas again. I'm going the speed limit as I move past the light and the car beside me puffs before zooming past. "He just ruined his precious engine." I comment only to myself but I don't think I'm the only one that heard it as everyone is now laughing.

"Oh no." Emma smiles as a cop comes flying by with his sirens ringing. "Looks like someone had a run-in with the law." She jokes as we find the red Ferrari pulled over to the side.

"You son of a Bi-!" I blow my horn for Sophie's sake; blocking out that last part.

Frank reaches over Jack to give me a pat on the back as we ride down the street of the festival. "If anyone spots a open parking spot let me know." I announce as I see car after car boxed in on the side street.

It takes a good 15 minutes before I watch impatiently for a young couple to get their one kid in their mini van and the dad struggling to put down his bad ass stroller into the trunk. "You got your jacket Soph?" I ask as we all move further and further away from the car.

"Yes!" She exclaims as she hands it over and I help her into it.

"Leslie, you're about to run into a pole." I tell her without actually looking over. It works as she looks up from her phone for a split second to avoid the stationary object. No matter what kind of family gathering we tend to, she always has her face in her device. I'll always try to get her attention just to see if what she is so engrossed in is so important. "Gotcha." I laugh along with Chandler who knows just how annoying her habits can be. And she would know, they share a room.

The ground is muddy from the night before. There are trash cans with orange garbage bags inside. Only half full at the moment, but you can find one at every corner. The small kiddy rides are off to the side along with the mini games. In the back you can see the various amounts of people waiting for the hayrides to start their rounds again. Then there are haystacks and bonfires that warm up the cold parents as they sit and make small talk during the time their kids are running free from goblins.

"Ben, can we do the hayride?" Erica asks and Emma immediately nods along.

I sigh, we got twenty feet into the park. "You know, there are two different hayrides here." I inform my group of under privileged kids.

Erica rolls her eyes "Not the kiddy one." She makes clear enough that I have to laugh.

"No, I mean, we can go on the hayride that takes families around with the headless horseman in the woods or, we can dare to shoot zombies with paint-balls as the trackers take us through the barns and cornfields." I tell them and I find Jr.'s eyes go wide.

"Are they actual people?"

I nod "Poor bastards." I say under my breath.

At least they get paid for it.

I feel like we didn't just come for the haunted house...

Damn it's cold. I pull my windbreaker closer to my body. The chilly night being blocked out and shielded from my skin. I go to put my hands in my pockets when I'm stopped by someone grabbing hold of my fingers. Looking over I find Emma acting as if nothing just happened. She doesn't seem scared or cold.

And that is when I realize just how much I've missed my baby sister. We use to do everything together. I know it's not normal for a teenage guy to hang out with his younger sister, but we were always really close. Maybe it was because I was always incharge of keeping her occupied when I was over at my dad's. Or maybe it was because she wasn't so much a girly girly when she was around me and my friends.

I still beat myself up at the fact that she almost beat me at Alien Isolation. I still won, but being almost 8 years older than her I expected it to be more of a gap between high scores.

Emma and I are like Peas and Carrots.

When she was 5, I used that phrase and she told me she didn't like peas, she liked bananas better. Bananas and Carrots don't go together so I had to change my carrots to something like...vanilla wafers. Or "nilla", as she pronounced.

"Em, you know you have to let go of my hand when we get the guns, right?"

She just nods and I feel like going to college was the stupidest mistake I've made.

Stepping in front of her I bend down and pick her up. She is tiny for being 12 and she only weighs about 70 pounds. Her legs wrap around my body and I find her hands go tightly around my neck, but not in a way that she is choking me. Her head presses against mine and I hug her close as she sits on my side. "Don't go back to college." She whispers

"I have to kid. But remember, I'll always be your best friend." I let her know softly and I realize by the way she is breathing that she knows I won't leave her.

"Ben..." I break my gaze to look down at Sophie tugging on my jacket. "Jack says we get to use guns. Mom says that guns aren't good."

I try to explain everything in the best way possible that won't lead us to sitting this ride out because of Sophie. "Well, your Mom is absolutely right. But these guns don't hurt people-" I hear Frank scuff and I give him a glare that he manages to read and shut up "These guns are full of paint and all sorts of pretty colors." The smile on her face brings my heart rate down. We are getting on this tracker! "Why don't you grab hold of Leslie's hand so you don't get lost in the crowd." I instruct, glad that Leslie actually put down her phone to focus her attention on the youngest.

"So let me get this straight..." Chandler's face is priceless as she looks puzzled when thinking about her question. "We _aren't_ going into the haunted house?"

"They wanted to go on the hayride." Frank tells her so I don't have to repeat myself when he motions in Erica's direction beside Jack.

"I didn't want to go on the hayride first." Jack defended

"I was pointing to Erica."

"Emma wanted to do this too." She pointed out her cousin beside me.

I feel like we could get into a pointless fight pretty soon "It's paint-balls guys!" I shout "Now, I would love to go through the haunted house first." I speak up "But that line is like 50 people long right now. We are going on this hayride to buy some time. Now, whoever is not cool with that can go wait by the bonfire."

Its silent and I know I've made my point. "Okay then."

"Ben?"

"What?" My voice is higher than I intended as I look at Jack

He doesn't say anything, just points at the man in front of me.

"Tickets, Son?"

My heart stops and the frustration builds up inside of me again "Tickets?"

"I've got some warm gummy bears." Frank Jr. Jr. pulls out a couple squishy candies from his pocket. "Would that do?"

"Gross." Leslie comments and all the other girls cringe in discuss as Jack smiles and grabs one from his older cousin before popping it in his mouth.

I look around at my cousins. "Look Sir, I've been away at college for nearly 9 weeks now and this is the first time I had a chance to come home." I glance at Emma beside me "I just want to be able to take my sister out on the town and instead I'm stuck with 7 extra kids. So could you cut me some slack and let us on this one time?" I plead in a way that I was sure wouldn't work.

Pulling the caution tape aside he allowed us to step by and I look at him as if I'm looking at my best friend "I was once in your shoes. Have fun." He told me as we walked up the stairs to get onto the tall tracker.

"Thanks." I smile warmly

Was it fun, yes. Was it worth it, we didn't pay. So the real question is, would I do it again?

"Dude, you completely nailed that last one!" I high five Jack. Not a single one of us came off without a smile. We had no idea where we were walking; we were bumping into each other as we laughed. "Leslie, remind me never to get on your bad side." I commented "And you." I stop in front of Sophie as I swing her up and into my arms "You rocked."

"At least you all got to finish the game..." Frank Jr. Jr. mumbled and everyone continued to laugh harder

"They told you once you run out of balls you're done." Chandler reminded her brother

Yeah, I would do it again.

It wasn't Halloween, nor was it the day before. But that didn't stop any of us from entering the hunted house where strobe lights flashes so bright it will give you a headache just staring directly at them. Cobwebs covered the walkways and blood framed broken glass. A loud scream filled the tent and I found Erica grip the back of my jacket as we hung onto each other as if matching the movements of a train. The chain saw sounded and we all turn to find Freddy Krueger following us.

"Ben!" Emma shouted over the noise.

"They can't touch you." I tell her "Just keep walking."

We all come to a halt as we are faced with more than one way. A small girl about Erica's height approaches us. Her long black hair falls in front of her pale face with a bloody nightgown and a doll in her hands. She walks slowly towards us and we all take a step back. "Which door?" I ask

"Two?" Jack makes a guess and we maneuver towards the door, our back never facing the little girl.

"Ahhh!" Sophie tries to pull the opposite direction from the girl as Leslie takes her hand.

"Soph."

Only half of us were able to fit when we were stopped by curtains and a wall.

"Pick another way. It's a dead end." I announce, turning around to face my group.

"Five." Chandler tells us as she leads the way to the other doors.

Success.

On the other side are clowns. Big clowns, little clowns, toy clowns, paintings of clowns, clowns coming out of the wall and clowns following us.

I don't like clowns and from the looks of it, neither does anyone else.

Scary ass clowns are my weakness.

"Jesus." I jump back when we turn a corner only to find another one standing right there.

"AHHH!" There was a scream behind us and I find myself moving faster.

Okay, hunted houses aren't always fun, especially when clowns are involved. They should have a warning sign before you enter "THERE ARE CLOWNS IN THE MAKING OF THIS HOUSE!" It might kill their business but it will also avoid a massive puddle on that last corner.

Not me! I did not make that corner twice as fun. But I bet someone else will pretty soon.

The cold air hit me like a ton of bricks as we all jumped out of the tent only to be scared one final time.

"AH!" We all jump back, causing Jack to hit the floor from the last scare.

"Hey." We walk off to the side and I stop everyone "No one tells Aunt Pheeb's and Uncle Mike we took Sophie in there." They nod

"And no one tell my dad you let me hold a gone." Emma followed my comment and we all nod.

"And! No one tells _anyone_ that I just fell down." Jack warns

We all laugh "Deal."

**Happy Weekend!**


End file.
